Photo of possible downtown vandal. Provided by APD.

By Acting Lieutenant Powell Meads #3917, Antioch Police Field Services

On Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018 at approximately 9:00 AM, the Antioch Police Department received an online complaint regarding vandalism in the downtown area and specifically at City Hall. Officers responded and located three city vehicles, a door at City Hall, and one local business that had been vandalized with spray paint. The vandalism had occurred sometime during the night and was discovered in the morning.

The following morning (Monday, 11/26), the Antioch Police Department received additional reports of vandalism in the downtown area. Officers responded and discovered black spray paint on numerous business fronts, mostly on W. 2nd Street and “G” Street in downtown Antioch. The vandalism consisted of spray-painted swastikas, vulgar words and phrases, as well as racial slurs. It does not appear at this time that any specific businesses were targeted by the responsible(s).

Officers began canvassing the area for evidence and located surveillance footage that captured the responsible.

Photo of the possible vandal. Provided by APD.

Two still photographs derived from the surveillance are attached below. The first photo is from 11/25/18 where the suspect was captured on surveillance vandalizing the city owned vehicles. The second photo is believed to be the same person and was captured on 11/26/18, although no actual criminal acts were recorded. This case is still actively under investigation with additional surveillance to be collected and reviewed.

This preliminary information is made available by the Field Services Division. Any further information will be provided by the Investigations Bureau.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

A church building on W. 3rd Street was tagged with swastikas and profanity late Sunday night or early Monday morning, Nov. 25 or 26, 2018. Photo by Allen Payton

Photo of possible downtown vandal. From APD Facebook page.

Police have security camera footage of suspect

By Allen Payton

Over 20 buildings, including churches, city hall, businesses and a mural, were hit with black spray paint by vandals over the weekend. Some of the taggings included swastikas and profanity. According to Denise Skaggs from the City of Antioch’s Code Enforcement a total of 22 locations were tagged.

Pastor Eugene Jackson of Church of God Holy, which recently relocated to W. Third Street from their previous location on A Street, said “I was informed by text by one of our members that there were swastikas on the building.”

“When I saw them My heart sunk and I’m deeply saddened, because of the history of racism…against black churches in America,” he continued. “We contacted police and the news media. We want this racist hatred to be exposed… because it does exist in Antioch.

“We just held our second service, yesterday after we purchased the building and closed escrow last week,” Jackson stated. “This is someone who has a disdain for people of color. We are praying for this sick individual.”

Pastor Eugene Jackson speaks in front of his vandalized church on W. 3rd Street, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. Photo by Allen Payton

When asked when it occurred, he responded, “I was informed at about 8 a.m. It probably happened early this morning between 1 and 3 A.M.”

“The police did mention that there were other buildings that have been vandalized. One had an ATM which has a camera on it. So, they’re hoping that will help them identify the individual,” Jackson added.

Another building on W. Second Street, which is the location of another church, that was vandalized with spray paint. But it appears that an attempt was made to clean it up.

An historic mural on W. 4th Street, commissioned by the Antioch City Council in the late 1990’s, was vandalized, as well. Photo by Allen Payton

In a post on their Facebook page, Monday morning, the Antioch Police wrote, “Over this past weekend, our downtown area was heavily damaged by vandals. Numerous businesses and vehicles were defaced with offensive words and symbols. This criminal behavior is not reflective of our community or our beliefs. As a police department, we are aggressively investigating these crimes. As members of this community, we are saddened and disappointed. Clean-up has already begun and we are now reaching out to our community to help us in identifying the responsible(s). If you have any information that will assist us in our investigation, please contact our Dispatch Center at (925) 778-2441.”

Then at 12:43 p.m. the Antioch Police wrote on their Facebook page, “We have an update on our earlier post regarding vandalisms in the downtown area of our City. Though the case is still being actively investigated, we have located surveillance footage of the suspect. If you recognize him, please contact Antioch Police Dispatch (925) 778-2441.” They also posted several photos of the suspect.

UPDATE 5:00 P.M., 11/26/18 – Good news thanks to the City crews! Most of the damage was cleaned up. According to former Antioch Councilwoman Elizabeth Rimbault, who was on the council when the murals were commissioned in the mid-1990’s, called city staff to inform them, the murals in downtown have been treated with anti-graffiti material.

In addition, Rimbault said she was looking to start a fundraiser for a summertime repair to the paint that came off and some of the peeling.

Takes life of teenager

By CHP-Contra Costa

Monday night at about 9:28pm, Contra Costa CHP was advised of a three-vehicle collision at Highway 4 eastbound at Willow Pass Road in Concord. Upon CHP and emergency personnel arrival, three vehicles were located at the scene (a Chevrolet Chevelle, a Nissan Sedan, and a Mitsubishi Lancer) and tragically the driver of the Mitsubishi (19-year-old male) was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the Chevrolet sustained major injuries and was determined to be under the influence and later arrested. The driver of the Nissan had only minor injuries and did not go to the hospital. The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office will be handling the release of identity of the deceased driver. Please direct inquires to them.

In the initial investigation, it appears that the driver of the Chevrolet (Willie David Hamlin, DOB-12/25/1971, from Antioch) was traveling eastbound on Highway 4 at a high rate of speed approaching Willow Pass Road in Concord. He veered his vehicle to the right and crashed into the metal guard rail to the right of the roadway. Then he allowed his vehicle to veer back into the lanes of traffic and collided with the Nissan, but only caused minor damage. He then continued across the lanes towards the #1 lane where he collided in a broadside manner into the Mitsubishi with the 19-year-old driver, subsequently killing him. The 44-year-old driver of the Nissan only sustained minor injuries and was able to walk away. Hamlin suffered major injuries (but not life threatening) and was transported to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek. While there, CHP conducted a DUI investigation and he was subsequently placed under arrest for FELONY DUI and GROSS VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER. Due to Hamlin’s injuries, he remains at the hospital for treatment but upon his release, CHP will take him into custody and book him into the county jail. His release from the hospital at this time is unknown.

This collision is still under investigation and if anyone witnessed it or the events leading up to it, please contact Contra Costa CHP in Martinez, (925) 646-4980. Thank you.

Unfortunately, this is another reminder of the carnage and impact that DUI driving can cause and to know that impaired driving is 100% preventable, 100% of the time is even more disastrous. Please never drive impaired.

By Timothy Leong, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa Community College District

The Contra Costa Community College District (District) has decided to close all College and District operations on Tuesday, November 20th and Wednesday, November 21st^. due to ongoing poor air quality.  The District Office and Colleges (Contra Costa, Diablo Valley, San Ramon Campus, Los Medanos, and Brentwood Center) will resume regular operations on Monday, November 26th.

While the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is forecasting improved but fluctuating air quality over the next few days, the District has decided to err on the side of health concerns of its students and staff.  The District has been closed since Thursday, November 15, 3:00 p.m., due to very unhealthy air quality in Contra Costa County.

By Timothy Leung, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa Community College District

Due to the ongoing and unpredictable poor air quality we are experiencing throughout Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa Community College District has decided to close all locations  – Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College, Los Medanos College, Brentwood Center, San Ramon Campus and District Office on Monday, November 19, 2018. We hope to re-open Tuesday, but will make a final decision by 3:00 PM on Monday.

Results from the Nov. 6, 2018 election as of Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. From CCC Elections.

By Paul Burgarino, Community Education and Engagement Specialist, Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department

Results from the November 6, 2018 General Election have been updated on the Contra Costa Elections website as of Friday, Nov. 16 at 2:07 P.M. You can view them here.

A couple of points of interest: voter turnout is now at 62.2 percent for this election. Also, the Contra Costa Elections Division has processed nearly 2.3 million ballot cards to this point.

The Elections Division estimates that there are about 10,000 Vote-By-Mail ballots left to process, along with 25,000 Provisionals and 1,000 Conditional Voter Registrations.

Our next scheduled results update is at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, November 21st.

Antioch Election Results

In the Antioch School Board race, Ellie Householder expanded her lead over former Antioch Mayor Jim Davis to 1,399 votes, securing her victory along with Mary Rocha. The former Antioch Mayor, Council Member and School Board Trustee, Rocha overwhelmingly took first place in the race, with 27.37% of the vote, so far and currently leads Householder by 3,945 votes.

In the Antioch City Council race, Council Member Lori Ogorchock leads fellow Council Member Tony Tiscareno by 1,575 votes. She trails former Antioch School Board Trustee Joy Motts who finished first, by 2,039 votes. As a result, Motts will be the city’s next Mayor Pro Tem.

Finally, the results for Antioch’s Measure W, which increased the city’s sales tax from a half- to one-percent, show it passing by 8,004 votes with 65.26% of the vote. That almost reaches the two-thirds requirement for a special tax to pass. Measure W is a general tax and only required a simple majority or 50% plus one vote to pass.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

New Antioch Police Officer Riley Kathain with Chief Tammany Brooks following the oath of office ceremony on Nov. 15, 2018. Photo by APD

By Tammany Brooks, Antioch Chief of Police

Today, we are swearing in another member of our APD family. Join us in welcoming Officer Riley Kathain.

Riley grew up in Brentwood and graduated from Heritage High School in 2009. After High School, Riley attended Los Medanos College and put himself through the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Academy. Upon completion of the academy, Riley went back to school full time while working for his father’s construction company and received his Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice.

Prior to being hired by Antioch PD, Riley worked as a lineman for AT&T. In July 2017, Riley was hired as a Community Services Officer with the Antioch Police Department and spent most of his time working as one of our jailers. He recently completed the Basic Academy requalification course at the Napa Valley Criminal Justice Training Center. His childhood dream was to be an Antioch Police Officer, so Riley is very excited to advance his career here at Antioch PD.

In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, trips to the mountains, and playing golf.

A funny fact about Riley is that he regularly watches Wheel of Fortune and hopes to one day be a contestant on the show.

That brings the total sworn officers on the Antioch Police force to 100.

By Timothy Leong, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa Community College District

Due to the unpredictable and poor air quality we are experiencing throughout Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa Community College District has decided to close all locations – Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College, Los Medanos College, Brentwood Center, San Ramon Campus and District Office – effective 3:00 p.m. today (Thursday), Friday and Saturday.  We will reopen all locations on Monday, November 19, 2018.

While the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is forecasting a significant improvement in air quality over the next few days, we believe this decision best serves the safety of our students, staff and community.